[AKQJ10]

Thanks for the reply. I gain a lot from the give and take of hand discussion, so please don't take my rebuttals as a sign of ingratitude or even really disagreement.

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Flop: Pot is $2.10 before villan bets. Villan makes a very small bet. Many times at these levels a small bet like this is meant to be a blocking bet. That is, he has a little something or he has a draw and he wants to see the next card cheap. Your hand is likely good.


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I agree with this analysis, and I think it figured subconsciously into my vigorous flop bet.

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The flush draw is the obvious draw, but weak players at this level will draw to the str8 here or even try to see the river cheaply with a weak Q. You must raise for value and information. Raising to 3/4 the pot may be a better option. If a scare card hits on the turn, you are oop and in a tough situation.

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Actually I was in position (UTG versus the BB). She's bet $.25 so the pot is $2.35; 3/4 is about $1.80. If I raise by $1.50 to $1.75, she's faced with calling $1.50 to win $4.10, which is not quite 3:1 expressed pot odds. I have to play the turn extremely well for her not to get correct odds to draw to a flush or OESD.

My huge raise was in part intended to charge draws the maximum they'd pay without shutting them out of the pot, in order to decrease the implied odds. It seems like a smaller raise makes my turn decision tougher, not easier, if a scare card hits.

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Simply checking is weak and will invite him to bluff at you. But a proper bet by you would be at least 1/2 the pot. By betting about 1.75 you are giving him incorrect odds to call to the draw, but you are keeping the pot more manageable on the turn and it is easier to fire out a 1/2-ish pot bet on the turn in the face of a scare card.

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I'm confused by this analysis. I can't check the flop; I'm facing a $0.25 bet. We seem to agree that calling the flop would be foolish.


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If you are raised on the turn you can fold and it will have cost you less.

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By that point I'm facing some huge pot odds for the rest of my (now puny) stack. If I raise by $1.50 to $1.75 on the flop, the pot is now $5.60. Betting half on the turn that is $2.75; I now have (by memory) around $4.50 left. That's tough to fold getting 3:1 on calling the turn raise, even though I know it's likely that one of the draws has come in.

So I have to keep down the implied odds I lay. I can do this one of two ways. I chose to do so by exaggerating my turn bet. Perhaps a better player cuts down those odds by making a better read or by automatically (?) folding to a raise on the turn. Still, it seems like Villain has gotten about 4:1 on her strong draw if I fold to the turn raise. So I've not cut down the implied odds, and I've left myself vulnerable to pure bluffs!


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If you are called you can check the river and fold/call a bet depending on how big it is in relation to the pot and the odds that you have him beat, etc.

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See above re: position.

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If a non scare card hits, your bet on the turn should be as big as you think he will call. Many people at this level will still make a big call on the turn trying to hit that same draw.

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Agreed - but that would have made the hand a lot easier to play correctly! Alas, the eight of clubs was the premier scare card in the deck at that point.

Incidentally I pushed, Villain called and showed K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].